We now present the POV of Jax's orientation. After his conversation with Navar and Miri, Jax enters the Cadet Examination building, his footsteps echoing down the dimly lit hallways. "This is one of the first times I am without Navar and Miri. I hope I can make it without them," Jax thinks to himself.
As Jax enters the classroom, he is immediately met with the intense stare of an older woman. The older woman has porcelain skin, emerald eyes, and gray hair held up by two wooden knitting needles. "Young man, being tardy is something The Academy doesn't tolerate."
"Sorry."
"Take a seat," She adjusts her glasses and turns her attention toward the front.
As Jax looks around the classroom for a seat, he feels judgmental stares from the other draftees, who are pointing and snickering at his attire. "Look at his clothes. They're so cheap and dusty!" says a voice.
"How in the hell did a bum like him get in here," says another.
As Jax passes the unruly children, he feels his fingers curling into fists. "Jerks..."
"Come and sit here!" A small creature with large, round eyes, long, slender ears, and skin tinted pale yellow places his hand on the seat beside him. The creature has a pair of goggles perched atop his head and a white shirt covered by brown overalls. The race this creature is known as is a Mite: Gremlin Archetype. Jax sits beside the tiny creature. "Thank you."
"No problem. What's your name?"
"My name is Jax. How about yours?"
"My name is Rojo. Glad to meet you, Jax," Rojo holds his hand in a fist.
"Nice to meet you too," Jax bumps his fists with Rojo.
Rojo's face twists with revulsion as he looks at the children who made fun of Jax. "Those jerks…. They're nothing but rich kids who got in because of their parents."
Jax's brows shoot up, his lips forming a silent 'o' of surprise. "Really?"
"Yeah, some families within this empire have enough notoriety just to have the Army, Academy, or Republic accept their kids in for free, while people like you and me, who likely don't have that privilege, fight tooth and nail just to get in."
"How did you get in?"
Rojo proudly taps his goggles, his grin widening. "I'm an inventor and a vehicle mechanic. Before he passed, my dad and I owned a business selling our inventions for the labor world of Metchester, and sure enough, we made enough Royal for me to get in."
"Wow, that's awesome!"
"How about you, Jax? How did you get in?"
"I won the lottery."
Rojo's eyebrows arch in astonishment, his face reflecting his shock. "The lottery! How did you!"
The instructor slams her stick on her desk. "Pay attention and stop yelling! Were you brats even listening to what I was saying!?"
"Yes," they say.
"Ok then, what types of ships does The Academy use?"
"..."
She lets out a long, disappointed sigh, her breath fogging the air. "Since these two brats weren't paying attention. I'll start again!"
The class responds with a raucous symphony of moans and whimpers. "Be quiet! If one ship in a legion doesn't follow his officer correctly, the entire legion looks sloppy!"
"This lady sure is mean. What's her problem?" says Jax.
"Yeah, she might be quite the bitch, but she is also one of the finest pilots who has ever flown for Ozania. Her name is Okino Roichiku; she was an Admiral amongst the Grand Admiral Ryon. Even crazier, she's a descendant of the legendary fighter pilot Ace."
"You mean one of Ozania's most legendary fighter pilots? Wow, that's amazing!"
"Now, where was I? Screw it. I'll start at square one. During Ozan's great journey of conquering galaxies throughout the universe, he had unrivaled willpower and strength and one of the most innovative spaceships ever created to get him there, known as The Ark."
"Ozan did not fly that super ship himself, nor did he engineer it. The man behind that was the famous Ace Roichiku, Ozania's greatest fighter pilot ever!"
"Though advanced for its time, The Ark was one of the earliest of many spacecraft iterations to exist within this universe."
"To simplify the nigh-infinite amount of ships out there, we'll break it down into their base classifications."
"There are two different classes of spacecrafts; warships and residential ones. First, we'll go with the five types of Residential Class Spacecrafts the common public uses."
"First are Flying Cars, which are commonly used by the public to travel within cities or other destinations within the confines of a planet."
"Next, we have Public Travel Vehicles that serve the same purpose, but they're licensed publicly by Ozania, meaning that you need to be a certified driver to operate these vehicles."
"Then, we have Cargo Crafts, which are often used to transport goods from planet to planet or within civilizations across the Ozanian Empire."
"Then there are Space Transporters. Space Transporters are private, non-combat space ships or buses civilians use to travel from planet to planet."
"Finally. We have Domestic ships. Domestic ships are ships that serve multiple purposes. They can house many people, provide entertainment for shows, and many more. They're planets but in ship form."
"Now we have warships. Throughout the beginning of "The Great Migration" and to now, trillions upon trillions of variations of warships have been made. To explain every type of warship, it'll take me a week to touch on a fraction of them. So, to keep it simple, I'll explain the four base archetypes of warships."
"First, we have Stingers, smaller and faster vehicles used to circumvent enemy defenses using their beyond Mach travel speeds."
"Next, we have Fighter ships, which are the primary choice for Ship-on-ship combat for Ozania and other prominent factions. Although Fighter Ships are not as fast as Stingers, they still have a competent travel speed, which makes them the most common ships used among empires and dynasties in a space battle."
"Then we got Heavy Ships. Heavy Ships are best known for their heavier and more powerful Ion or photon energy blasts. To go along with their powerful blasters, they have enhanced armor. This makes them ideal for situations where you want to take out enemies faster than you can with a regular Fighter Ship or fend off a stinger swarm invasion. The drawback to Heavy Ships is they're slower than fighter ships because of their heavier equipment."
"Finally, we have Main Frigates. Several compartments in the main frigates house all the ships, as mentioned earlier. Frigates can deploy all kinds of ships into battle, and they have a top window for an Admiral to oversee the battle from afar."
"Questions before we move on to the next subject?"
"…"
"Now for some geography," Okino unrolls a large, classroom-styled chart, revealing multiple planet-shaped designs.
"These are the planets within our Empire, and there are four types of them."
"First, we have Super Worlds. Super Worlds are planets that can inhabit more than one civilization on one planet. Because of their gigantic size, they are often labeled 'Capital Worlds' for civilizations or empires."
"Next, we have Labor worlds. Labor worlds are primarily used for work to produce goods and other products to keep our Empire's economy thriving. Power plants, mining, you name it! These are done within Labor worlds."
"Then we have Evacuation Worlds, which are used for emergency inhabitation in case we can't withstand an enemy attack and must save civilians."
"Finally, we have Base worlds, which are the same as Super worlds, only to a much smaller extent. Just think of a normal planet."
Okino switches to the next slide, revealing a map with various-sized planets. "This map shows all the worlds, moons, and star systems Ozania has colonized. Currently, Ozania has over 100 star systems and around 30 planets within said star systems, equaling around 3,000 total worlds conquered."
"Wow!" says the class in amazement.
"And for one last bit, The Academy is primarily a space and sky program for pilots; however, there are other sub-divisions you can enter if you want to expand your skills. The Academy has engineers who help design our ships and are called into battle to repair damaged vehicles. They also have hackers who are often called on when we encounter a system that can't be breached with just force."
"Now that this orientation is complete, someone will interview you to see if you meet the requirements to become a cadet. Look under your seat. You'll see a number directing you to your next destination."
All people check under their red four-legged seats upon being instructed. Rojo pulls up a white sheet of paper, and his heart swells with excitement as he reads the name 'Rai'. "N-no way I got Emperor Rai Room A!"
"Wow, me too!" says Jax.
"I can't believe I get to meet the Emperor of Ozania. I'm so excited but nervous at the same time."
"I just hope Navar and Miri are in the same room," Jax thinks to himself.
"Now that you all know where to go, you're dismissed. Good luck!"
Jax, Rojo, and every other draftee in the room go to their respective interviews. On the way to the interview, Jax feels his foot caught by someone else's, causing him to tumble to the floor. "Ow! That hurt!"
"You'll be lucky to make it to half of that interview, you fool," said one of them. The bully and his friends leave, their mocking laughter echoing behind them.
"What a jerk! We outta do somethin' to him!"
Jax chuckles and pats Rojo's shoulder. "Don't let him get into your head, Rojo; let's keep our heads up and stay out of trouble."
"Alright, only because I like ya, Jax. But I can't promise ya I won't do anything crazy if they pull that again."
During their walk down the hall, Jax thinks about Navar and Miri. "I hope you guys are doing well. I promise I'll see you soon, guys," Jax thinks to himself.